New Testament Commentary - Matthew 2

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 2 The wise men are directed by a star to Jesus—Joseph takes the child to Egypt —Herod slays the children in Bethlehem—Jesus is taken to Nazareth to dwell.
1 NOW when Jesus was ^aborn in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, ^aWhere is he that is born ^bKing of the Jews? for we have seen his ^cstar in the east, and are come to ^dworship him.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he ^ademanded of them ^bwhere Christ should be born.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6 And thou ^aBethlehem, in the land of ^bJuda^a, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a ^cGovernor, that shall ^drule my people Israel.	6^a thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda Though the Jewish perspective wills out here in Matthew's record, the actual Old Testament scripture alluded to here is Micah 5:2 which actually states 'Bethlehem Ephratah'. And though this is that Belehlehem in the land of Judaea, what has been left out is the possible concept that the actual sector of Bethlehem where the Savior was to be born was that of Ephrath where Rachel was buried and which may be associated with the tribe of Ephraim the covenant heir and son of Joseph of Egypt. (See Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Joseph)	6^a TG Jesus Christ, Prophecies about ^b TG Israel, Judah, People of ^c 1 Chr. 5:2; Micah 5:2; ^d Gr tend, protect, nurture
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 ¶ And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and ^afrankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a ^adream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of ^aEgypt have I called my son^a.	15^a Out of Egypt have I called my son "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt." (Hosea 11:1) Thus when Hosea recorded that the child 'Israel' was the son of God called out of Isreal, it was Jehovah as Jesus the Christ child who was being spoken of. For it was Jehovah who in the beginning did prevail with God over Lucifer and first so given the name title of 'Israel', he having prevailed with God the Father over Satan then. And this name of 'Israel' when given to Jacob was but one of the names of Jehovah, God of the Old Testament, which was given to Jacob and thence from Jacob to Ephraim (JST Gensis 48). So when Rachel is next presented as 'the Mother of Israel' it even has a greater significance, as she was not only the maternal ancestor of Ephraim, and the kingdom of Israel, but also of Israel being Jesus Christ the Savior of the world.
Rachel, The Mother of Israel Rachel is the true Mother of Israel. According to Jewish tradition, Rachel received and proclaimed that the true Messiah would come of her descent. In the dualality of scriptures, it was Rachel who wept when Israel was taken captive in the days just prior to Jeremiah. And according to the Apostle Matthew, it was also Rachel, NOT Leah, who wept for 'HER CHILDREN' when Herod had all the children of the House of David from two years and under murdered.
16 ¶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was ^amocked of the wise men, ^bwas exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and ^cslew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the ^dcoasts thereof^a, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by ^aJeremy the prophet, saying, 18 *In ^aRama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great ^bmourning, Rachel weeping for* her ^cchildren, and would not be comforted, because they are not.^a Rachel's Children Bethlehem was the city of David, meaning where David was born. It was the land of his family's land inheritance which came from the family of Elimelech and his son Mahlon, the legal and rightful heirship ancestry of the house of Obed, Jesse and David, Boaz merely being the surrogate parent, raising up seed to the dead house of his 'distant' cousin kinsmen Elimelech and Mahlon. It is significant that Elimelech, Mahlon, Nun, Joshua, Jesse, Jereboam and others were all identified as being Ephrathites, meaning Ephraimites. It was upon the head of Joseph and his sons, first Ephraim and second Manasseh, that the right of the Firstborn in Israel was bestowed by Jacob and recognized by the Lord. Rachel is the 'true mother of Israel', and the house of David, which were of Jewish blood from Boaz, but of descent form Ephraim according to God's Law of adoption and raising up seed to the dead. Therefore when Herod killed all the children of the house of David, not only in Bethlehem, the city of David, but in 'all** the coasts thereof', this included Ramah, of Mount Ephraim, the land of the Ephraimites and those associated with the House of David and the Ephraimite descent of the Messiah, the King.	16^a in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof King Herod was fereting out all the children of the House of David who could qualify as the promised Messiah. It would seem that as of the time of 'taxation', those of the house of David and Ehpraim were to stay in their lands of inheritance, for Herod only pursued the killing of the children within the determined age in the coasts and lands of Bethlehem and Ramah of Mount Ephraim. *16^a In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for* her children, and would not be comforted, becasue they are not.** Over time there has been some dispute over the location of Ramah, Mount Ephraim and Rachel's tomb and which tribe's land inheritance it was located in. When Saul was called to be anointed King he was at the location of Rachel's tomb or sepulchre called Zelzah which was in the border of Benjamin according to 1 Samuel 10:2. During the days of King David, much of the lands of the tribe of Benjamin was swallowed up in King David's Kingdom to be considered by the Jews as in the lands of Judah, including Jerusalem which had been stipulated by Joshua to be a part of the land of Benjamin as well as apparently the land of Rachel's sepulchre at Zelzah, which the Jews have stipulated to be Bethlehem, 'The House of Bread'. That Benjamin was the son of Rachel's death and brother of Joseph and therefore of the House of Rachel, not Leah must be considered. And that it was Rachel who morned for the murder of the children of the House of David must further be considered. And that this was said in prophecy to be of 'Ramah', which is associated with 'Mount Ephraim' is further of significance. (See Messiah Ben David ~ Messiah Ben Joseph).
19 ¶ But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a ^adream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the ^aland of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. 21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the ^aroom of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a ^bdream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called ^aNazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was ^bspoken by the prophets, He shall be called a ^cNazarene.